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J. HARPER. RAILROAD GATE.

No. 499,360. Patented June 13, 1893.

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J HARPER RAILROAD GATE.

Patented June 13, 1893,

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No. 499,3 0 rl Tm: NORRIS PITERS co. PHOYD'LITHOH vusnmn'mm u. c.

UNITED STATES ATENT Futon.

JAMES HARPER, OF LAPILE, ARKANSAS, ASSIGNOR 'OF ONE-HALF TO FRANCIS CLINGFAST, OF SAME PLACE.

RAILROAD-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,360, dated June 13, 1893. Application filed January 23, 1893, Serial No. 159,460- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JAMES HARPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lapile, in the county of Union and State of Arkansas, have invented a newand useful Railroad- Gate, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in railroad gates. I

The object of the present invention is to .improve the construction of railroad gates, and to provide a simple and inexpensive one, which will be opened by a train, and which will remain open until the train has passed, and close after the train has passed through.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railroad gate which may be readily opened by hand to permit thepassage of a person, but which will efiectually prevent the passage of stock.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railroad gate constructed in accordance with this invention, the leaves of the gate being closed. Fig. 2 is a plan View, the gate being open. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on line ccc of Fig. 2, the leaves of the gate being closed. Fig.4 is a detail sectional view on line y-y of Fig. 3.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l, 1 designate swinging leaves of a railroad gate hinged by pintle rods 2 to posts 3 located at opposite sides of a track 4. When the gate is closed the leaves meet at the middle of the track, and are held securely locked by pivoted latches 5 arranged at the bottoms of the leaves at the meeting ends of the same, and engaging opposite notches 6 of a horizontally disposed keeper 7. Each leaf is provided with horizontal eyes 8 which receive the pintle rod, and are arranged between parallel eyes 9 of the post 3. The lower eyes 9 of the posts 3 are provided with lugs 10, and each leaf 1 has a'corresponding recess to receive the lug 10. The lug 10 forms a stop for arms 12 and 13 of upper and lower spiral springs 14 and 15 disposed around sleeves on the pintle rod. A pair of the arms 12 and 13 are arranged on opposite sides of each leaf, and when a leaf is opened in either direction one of the arms of said spiral springsis moved by the leaf and serves to return the leaf to its normal position to close the gate, when the leaf is free to move and the other arm is held from following the leaf in opening by the lug 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings. Each post is provided with inclined braces 18 and 19, and the braces 18 are arranged at the side of the track and serve tolimit the outwardswing of the leaf 1.

v The keeper 7 is disposed longitudinally upon the track and is supported by a transversely disposedjelliptic spring 20 having its ends arranged in guides 21 and secured to and supporting longitudinal bars 22. The spring is provided at its upper leaf with lateral extensions to which the keeper 7 is secured. The longitudinally disposed bars 22 are arranged at the inner sides of the rails of the track to be depressed by the flanges of the wheels of atrain to compress the spring 20 and lower the keeperoutof engagement with the pivoted latches 5. The ends of'. the longitudinal bars incline downward at 24 to cause the wheels of a train to depress the resilient longitudinal bar without jars or sudden shocks or strains; and the longitudinal bars are connected near their ends by cross-bars 25 forming a depressible frame.

To each end of the keeper-7 is attached by means of a bolt 26 a pair of oppositely extending bell-crank levers 27 each of which is fulcrumed near its angle on a bolt 28 of a bar 29 which spans the space between two cross ties. The approximately horizontal arm of each bell-crank lever is slightly curved toward the keeper 7 and its'other arm extends vertically and is provided at its upper end with an integral horizontally disposed ratchet 30. Each leaf is provided with a pair of depending approximately U-shaped catches 31 adapted to engage these ratchets. When the longitudinal bars 22 of the depressible frame are depressed by the wheels of a train, the keeper 7 and the horizontal arms of the bellcrank levers are depressed, and the ratohets are elevated int-o operative position, whereby when the leaves of the gate are opened they will be held so as long as the train is passing over the depressible frame, and the ratchets are in an elevated position. But as soon as the wheels of the last car of a train leave the depressible frame the transverse spring causes the keeper? to rise, and the ratchets to be lowered out of engagement with the catches to free the leaves of the gate, permitting the spiral springs to act to close the gate.

The leaves of the gate are opened by an engine or car coming in contact with them, and in order to prevent injury to the gate by such contact, the leaves 1 are provided with horizontally disposed buffer springs 32 which are circular and are curved around the ends of the leaves and are secured to the opposite faces thereof, the leaves being provided at their outer edges with recesses to receive the buffer springs to prevent their sagging. The butter springs are not secured at the outer edges of the leaves, and are therefore sufficiently yielding to cushion the shock, and prevent the gates being injured.

It will be seen that the railroad gate is simple and inexpensive in construction and automatic in operation, and that it will effectually prevent the passage of stock.

Changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

That I claim is- 1. In a railroad gate, the combination of the opposite spring actuated leaves, latches depending from and pivoted to the leaves near their free ends and swinging longitudinally of the leaves,and a depressible frame having a central keeper provided atopposite sides with recesses to receive the latches, substantially as described.

2. In a railroad gate, the combination of the opposite spring actuated leaves, a depressible frame, and levers arranged in pairs and fulcrumed intermediate of their ends and disposed at opposite sides of the leaves, the inner ends of the levers being connected with the depressible frame, and the outer ends of the lovers being provided with integral ratchets to engage the gates, said ratchets extending from the outer ends of the levers and forming a part thereof, substantially as described.

In a railroad gate, the combination of the opposite spring actuated leaves, a depressible frame, and the bell-crank levers disposed transversely of the track and each having one arm extending beneath a rail and connected with the depressible frame and having its other arm disposed vertically outside the rail and provided at its upper end with an integral outwardly extending horizontally disposed ratchet to engage the leaf, substantially as described.

4:. In a railroad gate, the combination of the opposite spring actuated leaves provided with latches,a transversely disposed elliptic spring, a keeper mounted on the elliptic'spring and supported by the same, and longitudinally disposed bars supported by said spring and arranged to be engaged and depressed by the wheel flanges, substantially as described.

5. In a railroad gate, the combination of the opposite spring actuated leaves provided with latches a transversely disposed elliptic spring arranged in guides and provided with a keeper to receive said latches,longi tudinally disposed bars supported by said spring, bell-crank levers f ulcrumed near their angles and connected with the keeper and provided at their outer ends with ratchets, and catches arranged on the leaves to engage the ratchet, substantially as described.

6. In a railroad gate,the combination of posts having upper and lower eyes and provided on the latter with lugs, pintle rods arranged in said eyes, leaves hinged to the pintle rods, upper and lower spiral springs disposed on the pintle rods and arranged adjacent to said lugs and adapted to engage the leaves and return the same to their normal position, latches arranged on the leaves and a depressible frame provided with a keeper to receive the latches, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signture in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES HARPER.

Witnesses:

O. S. NELSON, J. T. BURNsIDE. 

